Is Roman Fever your classic Short Story?

Genre Study: Roman Fever by Edith Wharton

Roman Fever by Edith Wharton is a typical frenemies-style story that follows two women, Mrs. Ansley and Mrs. Slade as they revisit the city of Rome with their daughters, after many years away. Roman Fever also happens to fit into the category of a short story. Edgar Allan Poe defines a short story through its “unity of effect and impression” and Brander Matthews enhances this definition by saying short stories, “show one action, in one place, on one day. A short story deals with a single character, a single event, a single emotion, or a series of emotions called forth by a single situation.” Although Roman Fever doesn’t fit into every exact aspect of this definition, it certainly comes close, whilst also broadening the definition beyond Poe and Matthew’s contained characterization of the genre. Roman Fever is able to maintain a singular place and day in the present, but offset the situation with flashbacks and reflections of the past that allow the story to feel in some ways like a longer novel, but not quite. Emotions are complex and layered, so claiming that only one emotion transpired between the women over one situation isn’t true, yet the tension and distrust remained constant. Roman Fever also uses the two daughters of Mrs. Ansley and Mrs. Slade as a full-circle moment for the women, as they had once been in Rome together, young, as their daughters. 

Starting off with the setting of this story, Rome, it is the only location of the entire story, and the main interactions between the women occur on their terrace, or at a restaurant - somewhere always with a view. In particular, the Colesseum. Wharton uses the Colosseum as this central point to the story because although readers don’t get to find out its true meaning until the end, it is constantly referenced as each of the two ladies look at it from their terrace in Rome. Using these small details in this short story and in others provides an opportunity for worldbuilding, especially when working with certain constraints of space and time within the story. Wharton consistently depicts Mrs. Slade looking off into the distance where her eyes will rest on the Colosseum, for example, “Her eyes ranging from the ruins which faced her [...] and the outlying immensity of the Colosseum.” (Wharton 16;302). This small detail is repeated throughout the story is so minute that it can be easily overlooked, yet when paid attention to, it shows the depth and complexity of Wharton’s storytelling abilities. Again, Mrs. Slade looks at the view, “Her gaze turned towards the Colesseum.” (18;303). Wharton chooses Mrs. Slade, in particular, to look consistently at the Colesseum because it can later be concluded that she is potentially building up the courage to confront Mrs. Ansley about the affair with her husband which occurred at the Roman landmark. Again, these smaller details are really what bring a short story together and contradict the simplicity of Poe and Matthew’s description. 

Another theme in this story that isn’t detailed in Poe and Matthew’s description of a short story is the focus on inner dialogue. Although this characteristic isn’t present in all short stories, Roman Fever spends a lot of time building the relationship between the two women for the reader, through their inner thoughts. Oftentimes, Wharton builds the storyline through their inner thoughts, rather than laying it out plainly; “Mrs. Slafe broke off this prophetic flight with a recoil of self-disgust. There was no one of whom she had less right to think unkindly than Grace Ansley. Would she never cure herself of envying her? Perhaps she had begun too long ago.” (17;302). This particular line begins to give readers the idea that maybe the tension between the two began long ago and sparks thought about what exactly happened that caused their secret hatred of each other. Although one might think that short stories follow a more direct approach, and are more simplistic, Wharton’s technique grants the story the ability to maintain the singular setting and conversation while layering it with multiple timelines and perspectives. 

In comparison to a novel, Wharton may have begun the story at the same time frame that she did but could have provided much more extensive flashbacks, even going as far as to write an entire section of the story as if it was being retold at the time when Mrs. Ansley and Mrs. Slade had their fiancee debacle in Rome. Writing the story in this way would have given readers a much more in-depth, yet different view of the story. In its current state, the short story is able to hone in on the subtle tension of the characters, the way they don’t speak to each other, and the awkwardness between them, which is finally revealed in a final difficult conversation between the two women. In this case, the short story is more effective at drawing readers into this one feeling and one situation rather than straying into the minds of the men, the daughters, or any other confounding variables in their story. Wharton’s, Roman Fever is an example of a short story that moves past the limitations of Poe and Matthew’s simplistic definition. Although many of the standard characteristics are used, the intricacies are not described. But, that may be because they are purposefully left to the individual author's artistic visions.